Prison
by Lysimachus
Summary: Sayu gets kidnapped. That same, old, sad story. The one that always ends in tragedy.
1. Lie

Disclaimer: I don't own! If I owned Death Note, Matt wouldn't have died, now would he?

(A/N): hmmm. I hope this goes well….I like this pairing a lot. Don't judge. Haha.

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_Why?_

"...As for the suspect who was gunned down earlier we're still not able to identify him. Police are tracking the remaining suspects…"

_How, Matt? How could you be so stupid? _

_How could you leave me alone..._

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_Chapter I_

_--_

Sayu carefully unlocked the door.

"I think it'd be nice if you took me upstairs," suggested Tarou. He was Mister Popular at school. Sayu had had a crush on him for the longest time and now he had finally shown some interest in her. They'd been unofficially seeing each other for the past two weeks, but it was enough to get Sayu's fantasies fluttering.

"Hmmm, maybe next time," replied Sayu.

"Next time?" the hungry and hopeful look in his eyes faltered. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. He was muscular, just made for being built, and was tall as well. Sayu's slender body didn't even compare—so when he had taken her in an embrace, she felt trapped.

But in that good way.

She knew it was probably not the smartest idea. He was known for being a player. However, teenage thoughts flyaway with themselves and seldom want to return. Consequences are irrelevant when you're young.

He kissed her full on the lips, out of nowhere. It was how he always kissed her. Forceful (but not unwanted), steady and strong. And it always got her to say yes. But not tonight.

When he pulled away, she began to play with the collar of his shirt. "My mom's home. But she'll be away visiting my aunt in a few days. Couldn't you…wait?" She flashed her dreamy, innocent smile as she pulled away and stepped through the doorway. He was now no longer holding her, but kept a slight grip on her wrist.

Tarou was going to oblige. No doubt about it. He may have a way with women, but she had a way with everyone. Little Miss Yagami, innocent flower blooming under the shadow of her powerful father and her genius brother.

Who said she couldn't act?

"I'll see you at Hayate's party tomorrow night then?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Can't wait," he smirked, going in for one more kiss before departing the rest of the night.

He left, and Sayu cautiously closed the door. She rushed up to her room, barely making noise, like a swift breeze though the hall.

Her mom didn't know she stayed out so late.

Sachiko knew her daughter was out with her friends—but for studying purposes only. She didn't know Sayu was out until past midnight, because Mrs. Yagami went to bed at nine and her daughter's curfew was at ten. If there was anything Sachiko Yagami trusted her daughter with, it was bringing home good grades and going home at the appropriate time. When it came to boys, however, Mrs. Yagami (and Mr. Yagami) had built a large wall of standards and expectations.

Sayu made it up to her room without waking up her mom. With her back to the door, she slowly slid down to the floor, sighing in relaxation.

Her mom didn't know she was out partying. Tarou turned out to like her. She got good enough grades to get into a good college. She had enough money so she didn't have to live in this house anymore.

Wasn't life going the way she wanted? Secretly, anyway.

The parentals had no clue about the partying, and the boys, and the moving away. None of that.

She wasn't about to tell them anytime soon and shatter the image she had created for herself. She had Light, partially, to thank for that. His overwhelming position in life was enough to draw attention away from her.

Changing her clothes, she had heard a buzzing nose from her nightstand. It was her phone. And a text message from Miu.

_Heard about your night w/ Tary Boy : ) _

Miu. Sayu didn't even like her that much. Well, to be honest, she didn't really like any of the people at school that much. Her friends? Yeah. Right. She only had a handful of real friends and Miu wasn't one of them. Miu was one of those girls that pretend to be nice and pretend to be there for you. Girls like Miu give you sweet promises of beauty and boys and parties that eventually end in drugging you up and leaving you out to dry for the flies.

However, Miu was part of the social scene. End of discussion.

Sayu threw the phone to the side, not caring were it landed for the night. She smiled to herself and plopped down on her bed, exhausted from the alcohol and music and dancing and flirting. It was all so much and not enough at the same time. Whatever it amounted to, it left her tired.

At least life was getting somewhere.

All of this—that she worked so hard for—the "friends" the house parties, the alcohol, the respect, the sneaking out, the perfect image, the perfect lies—this was as interesting as it gets….

Right?

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"The boys will be back from Japan anytime now. Let's hope those idiots won't screw up," Mello took an anxious bite out of the chocolate bar (more like block) that was sitting in the palm of his leather-gloved hand. "If everything goes according to plan, we'll have that damn notebook here in no time. I'd give it a few days before the chief cracks. At most a week. What kind of father would he be if he didn't?"

All but small, digital sounds of virtual crashing ships, laser guns, and explosions filled the air in the dark, hallow room. No voice answers Mello's. But he knows he's listening.

"Then again" Mello continues as the video game concludes the high score of the player. "We don't know anything about fathers do we…Matt?"

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End of chapter one. I'd like to know what you think. Flames and other unpleasant things are welcome.

Thank you for taking time to read this trash. Fanfiction is addiction.


	2. Victim

Disclaimer: Do we really need to go over this?

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_Chapter II_

_--_

It can't be helped. Her pleas can't be heard.

_God_. _Why was this happening to me? Of all people?_

She's being blindfolded and gagged. Should she be thankful she's not being drugged?

No. That's horrible. She can't be thankful for anything these people do. These men! More like scum—pigs. Heavy bastards filled with profanity and violence.

_Oh god. My wrists hurt._

The tears swell and fall, dripping down her pale cheeks that were now beet red in exhausted escapes of breath and voice.

And strength and faith and hope.

_Bang. _It's the sound of a head hitting the floor of a large metal van. She gets a bigger headache. It's so dark in here. There are only windows in the front of the car. It's too late at night to see anything outside anyways. Too late for anyone to be walking on the street. It's just a van driving down the street—too ordinary for anyone to pay attention to.

That's how they got her. She wasn't paying _attention. _The worst is that she wasn't even drunk tonight. She hadn't even made out of the neighborhood.

Her phone! Maybe she could somehow (in some godforsaken miracle) use her phone. Oh…no use. Her hands were tied behind her back. It won't be until later that she'll realize she doesn't have it.

Inside she's screaming. She's begging someone out there to figure out what's going on. There's a teenage girl in this damn van! There are scary men in here and she doesn't know where this vehicle's headed.

The hogs, filthy sons of bitches, are speaking English. Sayu knows the language. Her father made sure she learned it a long time ago. No good was it now, though. These kidnappers were being awful eerie and vague in words. Even had they been more detailed, what was she supposed to do about it? Magically spring up and…and then what? Nothing. All the things she heard and tried to figure, it'd do nothing. Who would she tell? Who would ever know?

_Stop acting like you're gonna get out of this, _she tells herself. _Stop acting like you're going to be saved. You're going to die, Sayu. You stupid, wicked girl. You lied and cheated and now you're getting what you deserve._

Never in her life had her mood, her mindset, ever been so changing all of a sudden. Just a few minutes ago, she was happy. Or she thought she was happy, at least. She was going to see Tarou—she was going to see her "friends." She was going to get away with it for another night.

Now what?

Then she hears it. In the midst of her panic, her anxiety, her fright and disorientation, her guilty conscience and self-attacks—she knows what she hears.

It's about a plane. A scheduled time. A location in another place.

They're taking her far, far away from here—to a place where no one knows her.

_This is your own fault. This is the end._

000

The lean blonde guy, clad in tight red and black leather, slowly makes steps around the distressed form of the girl in the chair. She's tied to it. Her mouth is taped shut. The only noise in the room and the only light is the television in the background and the shallow mutters and chuckles of the other people scattered about the room.

"Interesting," he observes. Sayu sees him pull out a chocolate bar.

A bald man walks up from behind him. "Did you make the call to them damned Japanese?"

Leather man bit another piece of chocolate. "Yes. Leave it all to me." The bald man grins and leaves the room. Leather man pulls out his phone and snaps a picture of Sayu—who's still scared and screaming as best she can while she sits constrained, helplessly to this uncomfortable chair with this itching rope.

"What's that for?" one man in the background inquires. Leather man rolls his eyes.

"It's for the Task Force. Let them know she's here and alive."

_Alive_. Sayu's lungs race and brain pounds at the word. How much longer is that going to be true?

"Ms. Yagami, is it?" he asks. There's a dangerous smile on his face that Sayu does not find settling at all. "Wonder if anyone cares enough?" He stalks away, smirking to himself. "Move her to the set room we had. Get her out of that chair."

The henchmen yank her from her place and drag her to another room. This whole place is sinister and secret. The walls are just concrete and steel. The ground is just cement, decorated with a smudge of oil, footprint, or used cigarette. Sayu can see men coming in from another hallway, carrying cases of white substances. Others bring weapons. Hell, there are even some hookers down here.

A stench of smoke, metal, and brutality leaks off the structure and suffocates anyone who is unfortunate enough to be trapped inside this circle of hell. She can see it in all their eyes. They're stuck here for life. Escape, and death is the price—the price for abandoning something that would turn its back to you any day. Crime has no friends. No allies.

_Oh god. _Sayu can feel the bruises on her arms worsen, the sinking feeling in her gut deepen.

The new room is even more secluded than the other one. It has a few lights. One door. No chair. Nothing. There might as well have been no room at all.

The blonde guy has long left. Only the bald man and henchmen are with her. He strictly says, "If her father does not get here in the space of time that I instructed, I don't care who does it. Kill her."

_It just gets worse, doesn't it?_

They leave a man in there with her. He stares at her—the way his eyes are moving and his smirk is glowing makes Sayu want to scream and run.

Since she can't perform the latter, she presses the former until her lungs want to give out.

The man in there with her is not happy about this at all.

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Mmm. Yup. Unhappy Sayu. Won't someone rescue her?

Thanks for putting up with me! Reviews are wonderfully appreciated.


	3. Guarding Duties

Disclaimer: If I owned death note, L would've come back to life and Light would never have had such a maniacal laugh.

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_Chapter III_

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"She's screaming so _loud._" Matt winced as he complained about the faint incessant screeches he girl a certain girl emit from another room. She had been recently taken from Japan by Mello's men just a few hours ago.

_What was her name? Yagami?_

"Didn't you put tape over her mouth?"

"You know the women," replied the blonde lounging on the sofa. "They like to be heard. No matter what. Tape or no tape."

_Beep. Yeah. Take that alien. _"So…how…how long is she gonna be here?" Matt managed to say between each new score he took on his video game. There were sitting in what was just another dilapidated room. Except this one had a couch and a TV—the latter being the reason Matt was even in the room at all.

He sat on the coffee table and was unreasonably close to the flat screen that flashed white lights of explosions and gun fire every time he managed to blast off the head of an enemy. Not that lighting really did anything to him at all. The orange goggles took care of all of that.

Mello bit into a chunk of Godiva goodness. "Anyways, as long as the Japanese Ta—did you hear that?"

Matt never took his eyes away from the screen. "Hear what?"

"The screaming. It stopped."

"…Huh…imagine that…maybe her vocal box exploded…three hours of screaming does that to you."

"I heard a man's scream after that. Now there's nothing…" No wait…Now Mello heard profanity. "Hey, Matt…?"

Mello's words came as silence to Matt's ears. _This damn Martian…blow your head off too…_

"Matt…"

No reply.

"Matt…."

Nothing.

"Matt! Goddammit…"

Had Matt seen what would was about to occur, he might have actually been able to prevent the following scene. However, when he was in to a game there was no helping it—no taking him out of mindless high scores and impossible obstacles. Matt was a lost cause to the digital realm.

Ever since that fateful day at Wammy's, twelve years ago, when Roger had gotten him a play station for Christmas, Matt had been hooked like a druggie on heroine.

In the middle of level 63, the screen suddenly went horrifyingly black—horrifying if you've been playing this game all day to get to the 63rd level.

"Mother_fucker,_" Matt threw down the controller (almost breaking the thing), "What. Is. It?!" he answered, glowering at Mello's angry form holding the cord that was now disconnected from the wall.

"Go check on her." Mello said this as calmly as he could. Being ignored was an unspoken prohibition when it came to him.

"Why _me_?"

"Because, if you haven't noticed, Ross' men are utterly incompetent. Hell. I'd be surprised if she's still alive. Do you not remember last time we had a hostage?"

_Oh, yeah. That other Japanese dude._

Matt was irate. Cranky. But he was smart. Unusually smart—not to brag. And so arguing, he knew, would get him nowhere. Maybe even shot. Not fatally, but Mello was the kind of person to just shoot if you pissed him off enough.

Instead of getting more frustrated with his violent and emotionally controlled friend, Matt picked up the pack of cigarettes on the coffee table, stuffed them in his pocket, and stomped out of the room.

_Why didn't little blondie get someone else to do it? _Matt conflicted. _Fuck you and your stupid leather pants._

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Cold. It's cold. This room is like some enveloping grave—waiting to take her when she's reached her limit. There's no real life in here.

_Why don't they just kill me? Go ahead. See if I care._

There he was, in the corner, gripping at himself in pain. She'd been stuck with him for what she was sure was hours now.

He wasn't as buff as the guys who had kidnapped her. Quite the contrary. He was lanky and greasy and Sayu had grown disgusted of this pathetic excuse of a guard.

Her voice was so sore. It felt like dry brush fire climbing up her throat every time she'd scream. She had been stretching her vocal chords until to their limit ever since she first got pulled into that van…

_All those miles back home…_

And this _creep_ had gotten angry. He was about to slap her straight across the face had she not kicked him in the groin and then kneed him at his nose when he kneeled over in pain—a feat she was not so surprised in accomplishing. She may look nice. But you don't get on Sayu Yagami's bad side.

Now he was far away from her and cursing loudly. He called her an evil, evil bitch. The lanky man had been about to get up—now pathetically leaning against the concrete wall for support—he raised himself from the ground.

When the man had finally gotten his body off the floor, Sayu began to beg God that he didn't come closer anytime soon.

That's when the door flung open. She expected some terrifying figure holding a gun or syringe or something. Instead, she looked up to see a boy.

_Boy? _He seemed just as old as the other kid. The one with the blonde and the leather.

Sayu did a double take. This kid couldn't be older than twenty—or nineteen, maybe. And he just _stood _there, looking like some other worldly _thing_ with the way the light from the outside hallway was reflecting a strange glow in his orange goggles.

_Orange goggles? What the hell…?_

The new guy stuffed a cigarette into his mouth.

"Bart, is there a problem here?" His voice seemed arrogant. But more indifferent that cruel.

_Yeah. There's kind of a kidnapped victim here. There's a problem alright. _Sayu hated how this was being treated like some run-of-the-mill situation. This whole ordeal was barbaric.

She stared at the figure in the doorway—the light straining her eyes. He was medium height. Not bald. Lean. That's all she could tell.

The lanky man now known as 'Bart' wiped the sweat from his forehead. "You!" he screams and points at Sayu. "I'm done!" Bart stomped out of the room, painfully, but relieved that he was now out off duty for this dumb little Japanese ransom piece. The new guy watched offhandedly as Bart shut the heavy steel door behind him. The new guy then turned to Sayu—taking a puff of smoke as he spoke.

"So, you finally shut up? That's good. You wouldn't want to make those men anymore pissed off, would you?"

She mumbled something that translated as indecipherable behind the adhesive strip pinned to her lips. New guy raised an eyebrow at her like she was speaking some witch language.

_Oh _yeah! _That's just great. Look at _me _like _I'm _the weird one—goggle-freak!_

"Excuse me?" He was hoping she wasn't speaking Japanese. Although he knew the language, he had gotten it in his head that he sounded stupid speaking it.

She rolled her eyes. She did not feel the need to repeat herself. _Like he'll ever understand me anyways. He'll probably just sit here and watch me look helpless. Some world this is._

He came closer and squatted down to her level—to her surprise. After seeing the distressed lanky man in here earlier cursing at her, she'd think this new guy would do anything _but _get closer to her. What's more interesting is that the close proximity made her want to squirm. Whether it was because she was scared or because he was just a lot better looking up close, she didn't want to know.

Or admit.

_Sick girl. Thinking about stuff like that. He'd pull a gun to your head in a heartbeat._

"I'll take this tape off because eventually you're gonna have to eat. But you have to promise not to keep screaming so much."

Oh, so they _were _going to feed her? At least there was the slightest stroke of hospitality in this crime. Nevertheless, this didn't make things alright. Not in the least sense.

As much as Sayu wanted to scream, it was pointless. Her throat was on the verge of tearing apart and her voice was all tired out—the metallic essence in her throat was the blood surfacing from the damaged lining. Besides, he wasn't inducing violence on her and he wasn't screaming at her, or telling her he'd blow her brains to pieces. He was just _there_ more or less.

She nodded grudgingly, agreeing to his proposal. The tape came off in a second, but hurt like a quick sting.

"_Ow_."

He just stared at her, expressionless. Like he was bored. For some stupid and childish reason, that upset Sayu. First off, she was kidnapped—and now, even the people who had unjustly seized her from the streets of her neighborhood (and country) found her as an annoyance and clearly uninteresting? It was just another sad prospect she had to face already.

"Uh, sorry," he said, finally.

_Did he just apologize?_ Well now, this character was definitely getting stranger.

He doesn't push her into a wall, slap her in the face, threaten to kill her, or make some perverted joke about her. No.

He pulls tape off her mouth and says sorry.

_What was his deal?_

Now that he was considerably closer, she could see his features better. He was noticeably pale. It looked like he hadn't seen the sun in months. The dim lighting of the hostage room only revealed the slight brown to his scarlet hair. The rest of his body was completely covered by the striped sweater along with that strange wool-leather vest-wrap, boots and those goggles. _What is up with this kid's outfit?_

Those _goggles. _Who wore them inside? Or, better question: who wore them at all?

His appearance proved enough a strange disposition. Though, compared to his aberration, the savage tendencies the other men possessed was much more disturbing.

Then, as quickly as he had been beside her, he was now on the opposite wall, sitting on the ground like her. He took out something from his pocket that Sayu later recognized as a Game Boy.

_This guy is getting weirder and weirder._

The silence strangled her already anxious nerves. She wanted to know. She was here. Of all places. And had all the time in the world.

She had asked before, to the earlier subjects that were sent to watch her. But all that came were grunts and commands of locking up her mouth—_or else_, they said.

"If I asked you why I was here, exactly, would you answer me?"

New guy doesn't so much as takes a breath.

"Oh. You speak English. Huh." What a response.

"Answer me, bastard," she spat.

"Name calling never came with good outcomes. It results in war and prejudice and black eyes. Hush." Was this all a joke to him? Why was he so adamant about this whole situation? He wasn't strung up or getting ready to hit anything in his way.

"I don't have to listen to you," she replies. Almost immediately, she feels a little bad for how rude she was. _No. Wait, what am I saying? I have the right to be rude. I'm a fucking kidnapped girl._

"You will unless you want someone worse than Bart in here again."

She cringed and decided on a more polite approach. "Can't you _please _tell me?" But to no avail.

_Beep. Beep. Next Level. Hypertensive energy boost. Beep._

"I'm talking to you."

_Missed! Beep._

"HEY!"

_If this girl does not _shut up…

"Look at me, you freak."

_BOOM. Game Over._

"Ah!" he grunted. "Oh, hell—oh, fucking great! Now you did it—hey! What did I say about name calling? Now look at what you—!"

"It wouldn't have happened if you had just answered me in the first place."

"You think _I _have to answer to _you_?"

Sayu could've exploded even more right there. But it wasn't worth it. She was against the thought of surrendering to a video game obsessed young man—however, perhaps not being so aggressive was going to get her somewhere. She could tell this one was different. For the five minutes they've been alone, even if he was slightly rude, Sayu could see something else about him.

Maybe it was his age. He was too young to be in a place like this. To think, a young man so scarred from being in this business. What force would be so cruel as to let a youth like this—who seemed to have no other care in the world except for the cigarette in his mouth and the Game Boy in his hands—to end up here? Then again, what was _she _going here? That should be the real focus.

She breathed in heavily and made a compromising glance at him.

He rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes, frustratingly. "If you must know, you happen to be," he sighed, "of vital importance to someone's goals."

"Someone?"

"A friend of mine."

"So what?"

"Look, lady, if you knew him, there's a reason people don't say no," he took out another cigarette and lit it with the heat of the one he had in his mouth before throwing it aside. Conservation of energy, or was he just that lazy? "He says kidnap Light Yagami's sister? Well, you do it. Simple as that. He says stop playing Call of Duty or I'll bust your head in? You do it. Now don't bother me." Sayu could hear the Game Boy announce the start of a new game.

_Because she was Light's sister?_

"Are you kidding me?" she exploded.

He made sure to pause it this time in order to keep up with this crazy girl's questions.

"I'd be thankful they haven't killed you yet," he warns.

_Thankful? Give me a break._

He resumes to his video game once again, leaving Sayu to ponder to herself.

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TWO HOURS LATER:

She felt the fretfulness slip away and let patience and boredom take its place.

_What now, what now, what now?_

Kidnapping Place—a name she dubbed these wretched quarters herself—had gotten to her head. Outside, the faint sounds of men could be heard, but other than that, the place was pretty quiet.

The endless button noises emitting from the Game Boy was messing with her focus and sense of calm. Whenever she thought she'd reached the point where she could relax and just _think _of happier things, this damned beeping nose would rip through her mind like a bb gun bullet—not fatal, just annoying.

_I need to stop it. Oh my god. I'm already going insane. That sounds something a crazy person would say, doesn't it? At least I'm not in the corner chanting. Oh, GOD. Why am I even thinking about that? Hey, hey, hey…focus. Calm your nerves. Your mind is racing and it's doing you no good in this godforsaken hideout. Maybe if you die thinking of home, it'll all be better._

_Oh. Now I'm thinking of dying. How morbid. I guess I'm crazy already…That stupid game! I should go to sleep…no I can't. It's too annoying. If I tell him to shut it off he might just leave the room and get that Bart guy in here again. No…not him. Ugh…_

What was the use of being so worried? It only made her heart work unnecessarily harder. What she needed now was calmness—a sense of a falling emergency. Perhaps if she—if she could just lie to herself, she might survive another day without going crazy.

The two just sat there, silent in this little rectangular space, a small section of Satan's quarters it may as well be.

Sayu tore herself away from her thoughts and glanced at her red-headed guard for the night—who hadn't moved from his position at all—unless you count his thumbs, which were notoriously pounding the digital device in his hands in a rhythm that seemed never-ending.

And that constant beeping that was never-ending.

_Maybe…if I distract him…_

She took a deep breath. "Hey stranger," she calls, almost mockingly. Goggle boy peers up suddenly from his handheld game with a perplexed windswept look beneath his orange sheltered eyes—as a deer would in headlights or like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Yeah, you. Who else?!"

"What is it?"

"Your name. I wanna know your name."

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End of chapter! Review, review! I'd like some comments. Thank you for those who did! Without you, I'd be writing mindlessly.

Next chapter…hope you have good predictions.


	4. Storytime

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN.

(A/N): Is this all moving too fast? Well, she wasn't in that place very long. But she does seem to start to get a little….well, I'll let you decide.

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_Chapter IV_

_--_

"Umm, it's Matt. If you must know."

_What was _with _this girl?_

"Oh." She seemed to have nothing further to say.

Matt took that as a sign to go back to his game. New one now—and Bowser was currently owning him.

He didn't catch Sayu's alert and widening eyes as he was about to press 'resume.'

"No!" she blurted.

He froze mid-presss.

_Great. Now he looks even more confused, _she scolded herself. If she kept up the strange theatrics…well, she'd rather not think about it. Either something bad like that or he'd keep playing that annoying game. _No. None of that._

Staring at the distressed young woman across the room who randomly shouted at him, Matt began to question her sanity. _Reminder: warn Mello of the Yagami girl's mental well-being. Drugs may be in need to issue._

"I-I mean…Don't you ever—you know—stop…playing… video games?" the question came out sounding meek in a desperate attempt at distraction.

Raising an eyebrow, he sighed composedly, "When I'm not committing espionage or killing people."

Sayu's heart stopped for a second. _Was he serious? _Taking another look at his expression, (which didn't change enough to show much of anything, by the way) she nearly came threateningly frightened of his response.

"I'm kidding, you know."

A small ounce of relief warmed her mind. _Wait, _she told herself, _why do you care anyways? _She convinced herself that it was because she disliked the idea of being stuck in a room with a psycho-game-playing-slash-killing-machine-slash-spying daunt of a boy.

"I just wanted to see your reaction—hey! Don't look so freaked—that's not what I—well…actually," Matt paused and realized that there was _some _truth to his answer (not enough to categorize him as someone like that). He wasn't really like that at all. Just a little. And he has Mello as a best buddy and a hatred for boredom to thank for that. However, the Yagami girl still looked like a ghost came in the room. "No. I'm joking."

"I see…" Sayu replied, relieved. The whole idea got her blood jumping five directions out of her head. Scary thought. Being locked up in a room with _that_. Somewhere in the back of her mind, however, there was no doubt that he had committed either of those he had listed at some point in his life. You just couldn't be in the mafia if you didn't.

She understood. It was part of what he had chosen as a job. Not part of who he was. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like. It's not like she knew him.

"It's hard to think of you as a killer," she said.

He set the Game Boy down slowly. "Oh yeah?"

"You just look too small." She hadn't meant that in a demeaning way. Matt wasn't short and frail. He was just not bulky like those people with the tattoos and shaved heads you see on TV killing people.

"Oh. Thanks a lot."

"No! I—I didn't mean it like that."

Granted, he wasn't exactly living the healthiest of lifestyles—staying up all night, eating junk food, and then sitting in the dark with a computer or TV or game system the rest of the time. Not to mention smoking like it was breathing oxygen. He wouldn't be surprised if his heart was all fucked up by now.

Still, to have a girl tell you that you look small, it stings a guy's self-esteem—even if the guy was like Matt (who cared less about the world outside the borders of his virtual universe) and the girl was a kidnapped cop's daughter. Even in a weird situation like that, basic rules applied to Matt sometimes, too.

People always thought he was heartless and—if he wasn't so smart—they'd think he was mindless as well. Deep down, being heartless couldn't be true. He couldn't allow it to be. If it was true, he'd be like the rest of the drones all over the place, and he knew that wasn't right. Just because the world meant little to him, why was it supposed to mean anything more? _It's full of lies and idiots. Why would I care? _It didn't mean he was a cold.

"_Anyways_, I think," he gets up and saunters over to her spot on the floor and squats down again, "you shouldn't be staring at my body."

"Oh, as if," she scoffed. "I wasn't staring at your body. Get a life."

"Right, then," he grins.

"Don't look at me like that."

For some reason, her irritation made him grin even more. "You're an easily annoyed girl, I've noticed." He blew a puff of smoke into the ceiling.

She takes in the image. Not once does she remember (in the time he's been in here) a moment when a cigarette wasn't in his mouth.

"That's stuff's bad for you."

"I know."

"Cancer and all that."

"Yeah—all that."

"When's the last time you went more than five minutes without lighting one?"

He thought for a second. _She had a point. _"When I sleep."

"I had an uncle who never stopped smoking," she says, remembering back to home. "Ever. He died at thirty."

"Good to know." He tries to remind himself exactly why he kept responding.

"That's too young of an age to die, by the way," she added, agitated, noting the indifference in his tone.

Another puff of smoke—"Sounds pretty old to me—" he keeps the cigarette sitting at the rim of his lips.

"You've got to be kidding me. What's the matter with you?"

Matt took the stick out of his mouth and turned his head to give Sayu the most serious face she'd seen him wear since he walked into the room. No boredom, no grins, to irritation. "Sayu Yagami, it may surprise you to be informed that not everyone is supposed to die old. I'm striving to about twenty-four—and let me tell you, that's reaching for the sky."

There was a somewhat darkness that washed over her perspective. She'd never thought about it that way. Sure, she knew there were people that were untimely taken from this world, but that was all in television and books and newspaper headlines.

"You—you don't think you'll make it past twenty-four?" the idea of it got her voice to quiver and lower its forcefulness.

"Nope." Absolute and apathetic.

"That's so….sad."

He shrugged. "If I make it to twenty-five, I'll pay you a visit in your nice little ideal Japanese town."

She ignored the sarcasm in his voice. "How old are you now?"

"Nineteen," he said, pulling out his Game Boy once again. _Nineteen and not worth a damn_, he thought.

"So you _are _an adult."

"Well that depends. What defines adult?"

She thought for a moment. "I guess it isn't really always age….its…" she paused. What did it really mean? It's not like she pondered on these types of questions of a daily basis. Life was like this: wake up, go to school, come home, leave home, and stumble back into the bedroom at the latest possible hour. Was _she _still a kid by any means? _I think on my own, I date, I drink, I swear. _Isn't that what adults did? _I'm only seventeen. _So what? "It's…the ability to take care of yourself."

"I've been an adult for a long time, then, if that's the case."

Memories came as an instantaneous downpour. Sayu remembered nights when she'd have to walk home by herself, days when her parents would discuss _Light's _future, _Light's _accomplishments, _Light's _friends. Always so focused on "_…well, your brother…" _Nowadays, her parents didn't even know her.

She was beginning to think getting kidnapped wasn't the most ridiculous of events. If anything, it made her realize certain aspects in a little more detail.

Or maybe this place had driven her mad.

The question is _Do I care?_

Her head was facing the floor—it hung over like a wilted flower in the dry heat of summer. "An adult?" she says, so quietly, it's almost to herself. She can't see the consternation in his face. To him, she looked defeated right now. Did he say something wrong? Did women usually get this moody and unpredictable?

"Hey," he says shakily. "Are you okay?" he thinks to himself, _Why do you care Matt? _

She's looking up at him again. "No. I've just realized some things. That's all." He nodded apprehensively and went back to his game and his cigarette—the only two thing that Sayu saw that seemed to matter to him.

"Good. We can't have you going crazy down here, can we? No one wants to save a save a girl driven to lunacy."

She found this funny. Maybe it was wrong, but she did. Then again, there were so many things wrong with her that she didn't care to fix. "I guess you're right," for the first time down here, she smiles. "I guess I'll have to try to keep my sanity so long as I'm here. It's hard, though. I don't know how anyone can keep sane with someone like you in the room."

"You'd be surprised."

"Sounds like you've got stories."

"What's it to you?"

"Tell me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"No."

"Come on," she goaded.

"You wouldn't be so interested once I start talking."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he tries to focus back to his game, but this damn girl…why doesn't he just stop talking to her? She speaks again, challenging him.

"Try me."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading. Share your thoughts and predictions. I have all the time in the world. Haha. I have no life.


	5. What's in a Name?

_Chapter V_

_--_

"—Mess up a pretty girl like that if she stays here long enough," Matt said as he stood in the doorway of Mello's room. Mello shook it off like nothing and rolled his eyes at Matt's advisories. He was sitting in those rolling chairs and was by a desk with about three laptops surrounding him. "You let_ Cander_ watch over her, for God's sake. I'd go through a breakdown if I was in a room alone with him. Biggest nuisance of a bastard I ever met."

"Maybe that's what she needs," Mello explained. "The more trouble we bring into the situation, the more vulnerable everything gets—all the more easier it gets to fit everything into place."

After Matt threw away the cigarette (not in the garbage, but on the floor) he took another one out his pocket, but this time didn't light it and left it just sit in his mouth. "I know, I know. I'm just asking if you can live with yourself for screwing with the mind of a decent girl. A _decent girl_, Mello. She's not some serial killer or criminal who crossed you or a detective who always one ups you. She doesn't know anything about this deal. That's apparent enough. You don't even have to ask her. You can tell she just doesn't _know._"

Mello shook his head while messing with the various laptops in the room, his back to Matt while he spoke. "If the ends justify the means, than whatever happens, happens, and then it's all worth it."

"You're one ruthless mother."

"I hate when you say that." He swirled his chair around to face Matt. "What's she to you anyways?"

Matt's head shot up. "Who says she's anything?" he spat.

"Deep concern is not one of your frequent friends, is all."

"I'm not deeply concerned."

Rolling his eyes, Mello stuck the chocolate bar in his mouth and muttered. Matt usually wasn't so snappy. If anything, Mello was. The difference now was so palpable. "Could've fooled me."

Shaking his head, Matt said, "Screw you and your theories. You don't know me." He sounded like an overemotional adolescent. He lied as well. Mello had him figured out better than anyone. They both knew this and almost laughed at what Matt had claimed. Due to the seriousness of the issue, however, they didn't. "I'm gonna head back in there." The red head checked his watch. "Hopefully, she didn't kick Cander in the sack, too. Later."

"Wait—Matt." He stiffened out in the hall.

"Huh?"

"Sayu Yagami—you called her pretty," he bantered, with a touch of sing-song. "I've never heard you call a girl pretty." Mello threw a knowing smirk in his direction.

_Look at that bastard. Sitting there eat his chocolate. Thinks he knows everything. Well, shit Mello. _"She's young, she's hot. It's not a crime. Jesus. Leave me alone."

Exiting the room, Matt left Mello to wonder whether Matt actually cared about the world, at least a little—although he denied it. Mello knew better. He wasn't one soft the top students at Wammy's for nothing (even if that was second place). Mihael Keehl always knew what was up. Contrary to what most believe and contrary to what Matt was like—being emotional wasn't always such a bad thing. You could tell what the other person was feeling much more clearly. It made it all the more easier to figure them out.

Probably what the case was, what that Matt had no idea what was happening to him. But Mello sure did.

Strange what a little girl could to in the midst of a man's world.

If anything, he thought this particular situation quite comical. _Now, back to Kira…_

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Have fun without me?"

She hadn't meant to feel so relieved—hoping that her facial expression did not reflect exactly how much brighter her mood felt now that he had came back. If it did, she'd have to pray that he as too blind to notice. The presence of that other guy leaving added to her more positive mood as well. She didn't like when these other people came in. They were boring and mean and ugly and very uncomfortable to be in a room alone with.

Matt was none of those.

It dawned on her, that, the entire time Matt was gone, even though she had been locked up with an utter idiot, even though she was God-knows how many miles away from home, even though she had no idea whether someone was coming to get her—all she could think about was _him_. That didn't mean anything. _I don't want it to mean that much to me._

_But if it does, then I can't help it._

_Matt…how simple. It suits him, though. I don't know how, but it does. I wonder if that's his real name…? This is crime here. Of course it's not his real name, Sayu. Wait, how do you know that? Maybe that's just the movies._

"That man was a pig."

"Unfortunately, most men are, sorry to say."

"Even when you think you find decent men," ranted Sayu, not noting how Matt's face slightly fell at this, "they turn out to be a bunch of screw-overs in the end. I mean, what does it take for a girl to find someone who isn't closer to an animal than a human? It's like people don't have any heart nowadays…"

"The world wasn't made to make people happy," Matt said simply.

"Screw the world."

"Look who's the screw-over now."

"You never finished telling me about you," she reminded.

Lighting up the stick in his mouth, he sat down across from her again.

"You just never give up. Wouldn't you rather ask for food or a phone call? That's what normal prisoners do."

"I'm not that hungry and you wouldn't let me call anyone anyways," she said lamely. "I'm not stupid."

Matt pulled his gaze down, shook his head, and grinned. "Trust me, I don't think you are."

"Good. Because I'm not. Now finish your story."

_There's no resisting when it comes to this girl, _Matt thought. _Where all women like this? Or just her? _He'll admit that he doesn't have much experience with the female population. Mello dealt with that all to himself, but Matt found it easier to score in Zelda than score a date.

He usually declined the suggestions of girls. Matt wasn't one to fall victim easily under seduction. He didn't go looking for it either, like some men. If ever there was an opportunity for anything like that, it came to him.

And they'd kidnapped women before. He usually ignored their claims and drowned out their voices with the background music of his video games.

"Fine, Sayu. You get your wish. Where the hell did I leave off anyways?"

x

x

x

x

Time, time, time. Talk, talk, talk.

They were actually having a conversation that didn't consist of her yelling at him, or him giving her warnings.

Still, she felt sorry for this Matt guy. She thought back to the time when they were talking about age and dying. He had the end of a life expectancy so close to the current day.

_Nineteen. _He didn't have plans any for himself except for the next orders given to him, the next assignment—the next game. _Right…he's from an orphanage too. Wow. This kid really has it bad…Sayu, you were lucky enough to have parents and a house. You ungrateful girl. Look at how much he's gone through, and he still looks more content than you any day._

"…It's like this: when you plant stink bombs in Near's bedroom, you'll have Roger to answer to—"

"I'm sorry," she said all of a sudden. A second later, she realized she ran away with her thoughts about what he said earlier and blurted something out that had nothing to do with his orphanage story.

"…" Matt gave her that weirded-out stare again. "For what?"

"I'm sorry you think you're gonna die young."

He shrugs. "Don't worry about it. Uh, hey! We weren't even talking about that. I thought you wanted to hear my story?"

"Sorry, again."

"Huh? What is it this time?"

She laughed. "Remember? I interrupted your story."

"Oh. Right. So anyways…"

"Matt?"

"I thought you said you wanted to hear it."

"I do but before you continue…Can I ask you something?"

"You know you'll ask me even if I say no. But be my guest."

She bit her lip. "Matt's not your real name, is it?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ooooh. Oooh. Thanks for reading. I don't know, but knowing that there are people out there that tolerate my work makes me happy. Mmm.

Next Chapter, coming right up.


	6. Play Around

_Chapter VI_

_--_

"By the way, you got one feisty girl you decided to kidnap."

Mello lounged on an arm chair, absentmindedly licking the corner of his chocolate bar. "Little girl got to your head, didn't she?" he guessed.

_Right as hell she did. The girl knows my real name. _Matt imagined what would happen if he informed Mello of that minor fact. He'd have a fit and put him through a lecture about danger and safety of identity and remind Mail Jeevas exactly what and who they were dealing with. And plus, he'd probably shoot him. Not enough to die, but enough so that he wouldn't be able to play video games for a month, probably.

He chooses not to even mention it at all.

Matt searched the cupboards. "She got me to talk about Wammy's House. Don't ask me how." He lied. He knows exactly how. He let her. "Next thing I know, I told her about that time we came back without Near 'cause we left him at the park." He finds an opened pack of crackers and places it on the counter. "Remember? We got in so much trouble."

"Well, it's not a bad story," Mello recalls. _You told her about home, Matt? You never talk about Wammy's. What are you getting yourself into? _ "As long as she doesn't try to escape, nothing else about her will be any trouble—since when did you like crackers?"

"They're not for me."

Mello eyes rose in interest. "Developing some Lima, aren't we?"

"Forgive me if I feel like someone shouldn't starve." His defensive tone was quick enough to be suspicious.

Taking a bite of chocolate, he smirked and gave his best friend a knowing glance. "You usually don't care about trivial things. You know, like people."

"Shut up," Matt muttered under his breath as he slammed the crackers onto a plate and left the room—trying his best to ignore Mello's entertained expression.

x

x

x

x

"_Wh…what?"_

"_Don't get me wrong. I think it's the right name for you. I just…is it…you know, what's on your birth certificate?"_

"_Your imagination runs away with you, you know?"_

"…_Am I wrong?"_

_He sighs. "How'd you know?"_

"_It's obvious."_

"_You're smarter than you think you are, Sayu. I'm impressed."_

_She blushed and begged God he wouldn't detect it. "What is it then?"_

_His mouth twisted as he thought this through. _Mello. Mello would kill me. He'd strangle me with that damn rosary if that was the only thing left… Wait a minute, who says he has to know…?

_His facial expression said, 'I don't know if I should tell you.' She read this right off the bat._

"_I won't say anything, I swear. Not to the police. Not even to my dad," she promised._

_He grins, a calm, twisted smile that hints at the real playfulness to his personality. Sayu decides she likes it. It makes him seem more human. She won't deny that it makes her want to smile too. She doesn't know why, but it does. "That's not it. I know you won't."_

"…_Then what is it?"_

"_You'll laugh."_

Seconds fell into minutes that eventually fell into hours. Hours became lost to time.

_"Mail? How do you say that, again? Mile… Mail Jeevas? Really? No! Don't look so sour. It's cute."_

Sayu lost track of the exact time of day the moment she got pulled into this criminal/detective game.

Before she had been able to guess how long it had been. But everything warped into one and then a million pieces constantly and reality in this certain place seemed to have no constraint. Had she been here hours, days, or weeks, she could not tell you.

All she knew was that Matt had told her something important (she guessed his name was important to some extent) and had left briefly and came back with crackers. Saltines, to be exact.

"Eat or starve. Your choice."

She stared at the plate of crackers repulsively. "How am I supposed to get to _that_?" _Do I need to remind you that my hands are sort of tied behind my back?_

"Dig your head in, like a dog." The worried and reluctant look on her fragile face made him feel a little guilty. "No. Sorry, I, uh, was joking—here." Taking a cracker, he stuffed it past her lips so that it was halfway in her mouth and halfway out—serving more like a muter than food. He finished it off saying, "There. See?"

Her eyes fell and revealed her disenchantment. Apparently, his joke wasn't very funny.

He apologizes again and presses the whole thing in her mouth. She hadn't noticed until now that he was wearing gloves when the tips of its smooth leather came into a small contact with her tongue.

She chewed and swallowed—obviously not enjoying the first piece of food she'd been given since she got here. "_Thanks,_" she manages to say.

"Want another one?" Her head furiously shakes. _No. Those were awful. _ "Suit yourself," he told her. "Just remember you're missing out on these saltines and their stale dry goodness."

"I think I'll live."

"Let's hope so." He reaches into his pocket to spend another minute with one of his obvious weaknesses in the world.

The game is on again. Currently in his palms is a PSP.

She thought she'd get mad again, but this time he had the consideration of turning the volume off. Or may be he just forgot to turn it on. You never knew with Matt.

But now things were different. This time, she actually wanted to talk to him. Wasn't she more interesting than Grand Theft Auto?

Though she'd rather not disclose this to anyone (especially her father—if she ever saw him again, that is) she was being to become fond of this kid. He was kinder than all the other people she'd encountered here. He didn't hit her. He brought her crackers (as bad as those were) and he responded to her questions and stories and opinions. He didn't try to hit on her or touch her or anything perverse of the sort. Wouldn't _any _girl grow fond of a guy like that? Wouldn't _any _girl be a little frustrated that he was friendly and not enough _friendly _(if you caught her drift)…?

It's the boredom, she decides. _No…no I don't like him. No. You__ love__ him, _her mind makes fun of herself, mocks her strange feelings. _Whatever Sayu. _The boredom and the slow deterioration of her right state of mind. She could let herself fall for him. Forget about Tarou. Forget about those people. Forget about home and consequences. Right and wrong. She could let this place get to her if she wanted. And she just might.

Actually, now that she thought about it, there was something on her mind that she'd been itching to clear up for some time now. It kind of got her a angry, to be frank. But she won't show it. She'll play cool, she'll play sly. She won't hold back. Over the course of who knows how long, she found out that she could say whatever she wanted and Matt wouldn't care. He'd answer.

"You puzzle me, Matt."

Who said she couldn't have fun in here?

_Get the car. Get the car. Run him over. BANG. Dead. Next. Hey Matt, the pretty girl is talking to you. _"Yeah? How so?"

Sayu tilted her head, in that way that tried to seem sheepish and naïve—and succeeded, "Oh, I don't know…You're in here all alone with a girl, who has absolutely no will or say to what happens to her, and yet you'd rather play a video game," she could tell it got to him since his swift commanding fingers slowed down their movements on the buttoned controls of his hand held. He was suddenly squeamish and it made her amused. "Could you explain that?"

_Okay, well…She got you in a rut, didn't she Matt? Hey, you better say something before you end up looking stupid…_Sure, she was cute. And it wasn't like her body was bad either—quite the contrary. _QUITE the contrary. _But that didn't mean he could…wait…could he? No, no, no. That's just ludicrous. And kind of perverted. _You're a boy. What's wrong with that? _"I—uh—well—"

She caught him off guard.

"You know, you can tell me if you swing the other way," she flashed a devious and innocent smile as she winked.

The scarlet in his hair was nothing compared to the redness on his face. "I'm not _gay_," he answered, defiantly.

Sayu couldn't help but laugh. He was acting so nervous. It was quite hysterical to watch. "Then tell me why you haven't made a move when you have a pretty girl all for yourself in a dim room?" _You're not joking, _she thinks. _You really want to know._

"Well aren't you conceited." he frustratingly pointed out. In truth he knew she was very attractive. However, admitting that to _her_ was just…he couldn't even think of an excuse. Matt felt hot and personally wished he hadn't worn the fur vest that went up to his neck today because it was just making everything worse. At least it hid some of his face.

Sayu saw his fingers fidget with the controls, a little shake now and then.

_Miss, miss, miss. One life left._

Matt mentally cursed at himself for letting this girl ruin his winning streak so abruptly with a subject so…what was the correct word?...unlikely?

"Lighten up," she laughed, scooting closer to his sitting form. He froze in place and almost let the cigarette fall out of his mouth because his mouth was hanging open—so dumbfounded. "I was just playing." His nerves had jumped from zero to sixty and was dwindling down to about thirty-nine, presently. He tried to focus back to his game, but to no avail. Why was she sitting closer to him? He hadn't noticed that she scooted in.

"Riiiight." _Damn. _One look at his PSP screen showed him that his score was as bad as a noob's. But that was the least of his worries.

"You know, you're pretty nice for a hostage keeper," she mentioned as-a-matter-of-factly, her voice fading, surrendering to sighs and yawns. "Very kind."

"And you're pretty weird for a hostage."

She sighed forlornly. "Yeah."

Within a few minutes, he had gone back to his game, yet still hadn't retained the same amount of focus he had kept before. She was just sitting there, her eyes steadily fluttering open and closed, stuck in a decision between sleep and silent wakefulness. Neither of them had said anything for a while. Yet it was anything but awkward.

Matt internally groaned when he realized she had fallen asleep by his shoulder. He sighed. Was Mello right? Had he grown a soft-spot for the ransom?

_No. Can't be it. Can't be it_.

_Think about it. _He let Sayu Yagami feel at ease. He let himself feel comfortable in this stupid room. He just couldn't be cold towards her—he couldn't just let her alone. Deep down, he knew that he wanted to make sure that she didn't get hurt. But he didn't know why. _No_, he had just to go and _talk _to her and answer her _questions_. Don't forget the name. What the hell was he doing, anyway? Telling some girl he's only known for a day his real name. He wouldn't have thought of doing this the other week. He spilled so easily. Why now?

She moved a little. Here she was, sleeping on his shoulder. He could get up and leave. He could scoot over and leave her against the wall. He could wake her up and tell her to get the hell off of him because she's constantly messing up his score—tell her that it was because it distracts him—with whatever she did. Speak, question, play, breath.

But he won't do any of those. And he knows it.

_It's just cuz I don't want to relinquish the only contact I've really ever had with the opposite sex in a long time._ _Yeah. Cuz I'm despereate. _Just because he was nice to her and acknowledged her presence did not mean anything, either. Neither was telling her the truth about himself. He'll blame it on all of that—blame it on the things he lacks and the things he let slip. It was just chance occurring upon someone chance forgot for a while. _That's it. That's the only reason._

True? Maybe.

But the fact that something was preventing him from leaving to room too long, from leaving her side too long, from not wanting to get too far away from her and tear her sleeping form away from his body, was screaming, '_Maybe not.'_

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hmm. Hmm. I hope this chapter wasn't confusing. If it was, I apologize. I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm just writing here. Don't kill me. Haha.

Thank you reviewers, once again. Feedback is always appreciated.

Okay. Next chapter.


	7. Try

(A/N): I'm trying not to make this corny. It's hard.

Oh and **SoulEater**! I did read that fanfic very long ago ^_^ and I liked it. The very first Matt/Sayu.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Chapter VII_

_--_

"Sleepyhead."

Sayu weakly looked up from the floor, her eyes fighting their assumed position for the last…how long? When she awoke fully, the first image in sight was Matt watching curiously over her while he sat criss-crossed beside her form—his chin in his hand, a cancer stick in his mouth (where else?) and smoke in the air. His fur vest wasn't on and she could see his collar bones so outlined out of his skin.

She then realized that what she had been sleeping on was, in fact, his fur vest, folded into a square on the ground where her head was lying currently. He had made her a pillow.

Sensing her confusion, he explained. "You fell asleep on my arm. But I didn't think you'd have the best feeling in the world when you woke up to a sore neck."

"So you did this?" she asked pointedly to the folded article of clothing beneath her hair. He nodded. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Don't know." He honestly didn't. He spent the entire time just watching her in her peaceful slumber. The last part was going to go unrevealed, however.

"What'd you do this entire time I slept, then?"

"Final Fantasty." The lie came through so naturally. He was kind of proud of it.

"Of course. Why'd I ask?" they absentmindedly ended up staring at each other for a few spare seconds (her looking up, him looking down) before she felt her stomach growl. Apparently, it was loud enough for him to hear, too.

Matt grabbed the plate that had been tossed aside earlier. "Got those crackers still."

"Hey…"

"Huh? What is it?"

She felt the pillow beneath her head. She looked at the plate of crackers on the ground. She felt no bruises on her body, no urge to cry in her head. "Why are you so nice to me?"

His answer did exactly make her day.

"You weren't sent here to be tortured. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to. It's my job."

_Aww, poor you, are you hurt, Sayu?_ She thinks. _ A job? Nothing else? Am I nothing else?_

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Boss," Bart said. "Absolutely positive that the chief from the Japanese Task Force is gonna be in LA shortly."

"Inform Mello. He'll be pleased," said Ross, who couldn't help but show his own greed and satisfaction with a glint in his eye. "What'd I tell you, Neylon?" He turned behind him to the man in glasses with long hair, smiling devilishly as he addressed Jack Neylon.

Neylon merely grunted. He never really took a liking to Mello.

"The little bastard came through. You ought to give him some credit. Power and money, Jackie," Ross mocked. "All you ever wanted."

A voice sounded at the entrance of the room. "Don't get cocky now."

"Good of you to join us, Blondie. I have a feeling we're gonna be plus one notebook around here soon," Ross spread his enormous arms around to hookers on both sides.

"Like I planned, Ross." _Exactly how I planned. _He plopped onto the sofa next to Ross and took another methodical bite out of the Hershey bar. _Looks like I got it this time, Near. _

_I'll have the death note. I'm going to be number one. All because of little Sayu Yagami. _

_Family. They're so easily manipulated._

Mello's thoughts briefly scattered to Matt's reaction towards this. _How odd._ _Me thinking of someone else for a change, _he smiled. That wasn't really true. Mello had always tried to find a way to best fit Matt's well being. 

No matter how much his red-headed friend might like to deny it, there was something going on in that little room of theirs. Mello shook his head. _The motherfucker finally likes someone and look who it is. What did I expect, though? The guy worships Halo. Did I honestly think he'd fall for someone under normal circumstances?_

Then, as tradition goes, he took a thoughtful bite out of the chocolate bar in his hand.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He had gotten her up again before giving her crackers to consume (since she wasn't in any state to move herself), with her back against the wall, like before, and he was sitting across from her again, like before, but now he wasn't quite so far.

"Water?" Matt offered. Sayu nodded furiously. Her mouth was do dry from all those saltines—things that shouldn't be called those to begin with. They were as tasteful as paper.

He had to pour the bottle for her to drink himself, seeing as she was still tied up. Water spilled slightly out of the corners of her mouth before he became conscious of the fact that he had poured a bit too hastily.

Matt's mouth twisted in a dissatisfied at his fumble. He took away the bottle when she was done drinking and wiped the access water away with his fingers. Secretly, Sayu's brain was buzzing.

He apologized and felt a little awkward for what he did. But what was he supposed to do? Just let her face stay all wet?

_I'm just being polite. Hah! You polite. You just wanted an excuse to touch her. _Opposite sides of his spectrum fought with each other. _Face it. You have something for the hostage. Do not. Do too. You're just too much of a fucking idiot to know anything like that. All you know is how to shoot a gun, hack into a Mac, and get past level 54 without waking the dragon. What do you know about this?_

"Umm, are you alright?"

_She falls asleep on your shoulder and then you go all haywire?_

Matt snapped out of a trance he hadn't known he was in, in the first place. "Uh, yeah."

"You looked like you were internally punching yourself."

_Hah. Well shit. She got you. At least you have it on for someone smart—shut UP. _"It's all good."

"Okay…" she answered skeptically—not entirely convinced.

x

x

x

x

"Hey, Goggles?"

He raised an eyebrow slowly. "I thought I said not to call me that?"

"Then take them off."

There it was again, her challenging, goading voice that always got him to oblige. There was something about her that made his will buckle at its knees.

"And if I don't?"

She nudged his knee with her foot. "C'mon…"

"No." _You just like to hear her beg in that little sweet voice of hers. You really are just a hormonal boy. Yeah. Okay. Shut the fuck up._

"Why not?" she whined.

"My eyes will go into shock if they don't see the world through orange colored vision. Then I'll go blind."

"Liar. C'mon…"

He shook his head and picked up the opened bottle of water. Declining was making him thirsty.

Wrong move.

Sayu saw this as an opportunity and kicked it when he brought the bottle to his mouth. Water got allover his white striped shirt, hair, and face—including his goggles. She smiled slyly at her victory.

Matt sighed in defeat, giving her a very blank, disappointed stare (disappointment at himself for being so easy to trick) and grudgingly removed the goggles from his face to wipe them.

What was the expression Sayu was wearing now? Awe? He could be so _good-looking _without his goggles. No, scratch that—he _was _handsome. With or without. It was just more accentuated without. He such a boyishly beautiful face, as odd as that was.

You could see his emerald irises. You could see the real youth behind his seemingly lifeless exterior—that puppy look now uncovered. The hint of dark purple around his eyes (what she guessed was a result of staring at an electronic screen in the dark)—it made him even more wonderful.

Underneath his thick vest, orange goggles, and messy bangs, behind the screen of a computer, a television, and a handheld—the body that belongs to hands that hold guns—he was still a boy, a boy who wanted to seem as unaffected by the world as much as possible, even though there's nothing that could have impacted him more. Nothing that could have done this much damage to someone so smart and so young.

He was expressionless the entire time she had observed him—the water dripping from his pale face and from the locks of auburn/scarlet/brownish hair. It's a color she can't quite define. "You look better without them."

Turning away, he blushed. "Yeah, yeah."

"You're supposed to say thank you."

"Thanks," he said tightly, wiping the goggles dry.

No one ever really complimented him on his looks. Except for the desperate hookers the mafia always had hanging around. Other than that, there weren't much other people to say anything about how good/bad he looked because not many people saw him to begin with. He was always locked up in a room, on multiple lap tops, monitoring multiple screens, or playing video games—hence the paleness to his skin. He might as well been a vampire. _Outside_ was a sworn enemy.

"You're shy…"

_I am not SHY. _"No. I just," _you just what, loser? "_ –Lack the proper social skills, that's all. I don't care for human interaction." _Except when you see, like, you know, those magazines…and when you see her._

The bright tint in her eyes faltered. "Oh…"

He caught it and immediately felt bad. "I didn't mean _you._ I mean people in general."

_Poor boy, _thought Sayu. She frowned.

"I'd just rather not spend my time around people, you know? Hey, don't get all offended. The universe just isn't all it's cracked up to be. Socialization. Relationships. It's all overrated."

"Is that what you think?"

"It's how I've always thought," he stated.

_All he does is probably smoke all day indoors playing video games. He doesn't even believe he's gonna make it through a normal life span. What kind of mentality is that? _

"Is that why you always just stare at a screen? You think locking up yourself inside somewhere is going to get you away from the world?"

He stays quiet. _She wouldn't know._

"I can't say I'm totally opposed to that. But Matt…that's not always healthy." _Here you go talking about healthy. You're the one that likes the guy who's an accomplice to your kidnapping._

He continued to sit there, with his hand under his chin, his elbow on his knee—not saying a word. His goggles were slung around his neck. His eyes vacant. "Hello? Earth to Matt? Can't you just show that you care about something other than 'your' world for once!" she didn't mean to yell.

That snapped him out of his stiff state. "I don't just care about myself!" he defended, standing up.

"That's rich."

"Why would you say something like that?" He fell back to the opposite wall—a side he hadn't been on in a while.

"Oh, yeah. This coming from a guy who'd rather sit in a room full of computers than in a room with where there are actually _people_." Arguementative. It wasn't supposed to reach this point. But they found they couldn't help themselves. _How would I know?...I just do. Matt…I feel like I know him better than I do..._

It had been a long time coming.

"I come in here don't I? I feed you and talk to you don't I?" his voice rising. "I stay in here so you don't have to deal with those _monsters _outside." _I think about you all the time now, don't I? What. Have you done. To me?_

"But I'm just a _job_, aren't I?" _No. Don't cry now. _"You said it yourself."

They let the quiet and alone eat them alive. They let the background anger cover what the true occurrence was trying to break out and say. "Amazing. You really think it's like that?"

_You're blocking it, Matt. You're avoiding it, _he thinks.

She feels so…_Why? Can't you see…Matt…?_

"How am not supposed to?" she screams. _I don't want to be mad at you. Please don't make me mad at you._

"Because," he snaps. "Because I'm not like _this _around anyone. My limits don't get tested. My _feelings _don't get tested. And then BAM. You come out of nowhere. And now you're _mad _at me—"

"I'm not _mad_."

"—It's like you can't _see! _Don't you? I _care _about you. As much as that may surprise you, I do," his voice is strained so easily. It's all that tobacco and smoke. It makes it so that when he yells, the life in his voice is coated with a mask of physical damage.

Dead. Silence.

_There you go, you incessant girl. Look at what you made me say._

Eyes are wide. Her eyes. _Finally. Finally. Maybe you're a _person_ after all. You bastard. Does he mean that? He better mean it. Because I can't take this back. If I do this, I cannot take this back. But I won't want to. I'm not even considering how much _he _wants this now. Because I'm selfish. Not him. _

So he cares. He admits it. And now she wants to apologize. She knows that won't do any good. He'll probably sulk there, all mad, and cast a 'whatever.' Or worse, he'd leave the room. And she just _can't _let that happen."…Matt?"

He exhaled, sinking back to the floor, and dropped his head into his hands, letting the pent up…whatever that was…escape his body. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I didn't mean to you tell at you."

"Matt…Matt come here. Matt, please..." _It makes me sad. The way you think._

_You piece of shit, _he says to himself. _You made her sad. You didn't have to scream at her. You didn't have to be so defensive. What's there to defend about you anyway?_

"What is it?" he answers. _I know you don't think the world matters, _she thinks.

"Come closer." _But I want you to know that you at least matter. _"To me."

_Oh, naïve girl. He's getting to your head._

_So what? I'm just happy he cares. But _I'm_ past that. I more than just care about him._

He listened, reluctantly, not sure of what was to happen, and walked over to sit, close enough so that he was beside her, but far enough so that their shoulders were parallel and just an inch apart. It was killing him that he wasn't closer. And he had no idea why.

"I want you to know something okay?"

He nodded—with no clue to where this was going. He gazed at her small face. He liked her eyes. He liked her mouth. He liked the way she could like an angel in this shit hole.

_You know what you want, _he told himself. _But you're stupid. You're a bitch. You're an ass and you know it. You don't deserve her. Look at you. You're nothing. Forget about it._

"Are you listening?"

He strains to say something. "Yeah," he replies, weakly.

_I don't want him to be scared. I don't want him to run away from me. _"I don't know what's going to happen to me. Or you. So let me…can you promise me something?"

_I can't promise you a thing. I could promise until kingdom come and it would amount to nothing, Sayu. Don't land your hopefulness on me. I need you to be happy. Just…_

Her voice runs so low it's barely audible. It's not like her at all. She's fallen completely defenseless.

_What could she possibly want from me? Why would she trust me enough to keep a promise? Whatever it is—_

x

x

x

x

Like a spin into reality and fantasy all at once. Into _want_ and_ uncertainty_ between fine lines.

What happened next was out of his control.

_I-I need to think._

He has to go. He has to leave the room. He has to say, _"I'm sorry." _He has to think about it because right now his mind is like the globe spinning a million miles per second ready to crash into the universe.

He has to leave her there, alone, because he has to _think—Goddammit_—because he's too damn selfish to do anything else.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for all the support. Hah. I feel like those cheesy actors that get those cheesy awards they don't deserve.

Will update soon!


	8. Confusion

(A/N): Sorry it's been a while. I kind of rushed this chapter. If it's confusing tell me. I don't know what I think about it. I might take it down and rewrite it.

If I'm not lazy enough.

_Chapter VIII_

_--_

_What. Were. You. Thinking?_

Look he's gone.

She kissed him and he ran out of that room.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's replaying, over and over in his head. It should not mean so much. _It shouldn't. _But it does. They way she kissed him. The way he held her there a little longer than either of them anticipated.

She leaned forward and their faces were _so close. _He froze and she kept on inching forward until her mouth fell onto his. Until could feel her body against his and how they both felt so small compared to the world. Full of pain, full of concern. _I'm full of shit. She…doesn't…need me…_Gradually. He didn't stop it either. He let it happen. He led her to believe…

Well, what did he believe?

_You wanted it as much as she did. You're just too weak to do anything about it. _

_Well what the fuck do you want?_

His face felt warm, then. Now he's sifted out of there and he's never felt so cold. He hasn't looked at her in hours, hasn't been near her fragile state. To comfort her, to watch her sleep, to talk to her.

To hold her. He didn't even hold her.

He ran out of that room like a jerk.

_Matt pulled away, slowly, the heat of her body inching away from his. He looked her in the eyes then. And it's stupid, really, when they think about it._

_Now she realizes he's slowly pushing her away. _It's too soon, _she thinks_, but I know I'm right.

"_Matt…" Sayu's at an arm's length away now, his hands still on her shoulders._

_He's stiffened. "Matt?" He's vacant._

_His hands are gripping so hard on her shoulders. But she doesn't care that it hurts. She's afraid he's going to pull away completely. She's not wrong._

"_I…need…to think."_

_God. If only her hands weren't tied. "Okay…but, I really—" She tries to speak, but he won't let her. It's because he has a feeling he'll fall apart right here if she keeps talking. If she explains. If she says it's all a mistake, it's all a spur of the moment, he thinks he might live. If not…_

_Then hell. He won't know what to do either way._

_He let go of her shoulders. Everything falters and she knows she'd rather he hurt her holding on than let go. He puts his goggles back on._

_Then gets up to leave. _

"_Matt…"_

'_Out of here. Out the door. Out of sight. Out of mind.' He sets her aside and goes the door, opens it, and…just stands. So many things are yelling at him at once, and he doesn't know which are really what he wants. _Stay. Leave. Go. Stand. Go back…

Go back? Go back to what? To how I was before I met her?

"_Matt…"_

_He wants to say something. But everything seems like its choking him all at once. When there's hardly anything around. Hardly anything, but her. She's the only one in this room. And he feels like he's being crushed._

"_Matt…"_

_He's gripping the handle on the outside. The door still open behind him. If he leaves, will he come back? Can he come back?_

_Will he be able to?_

_Or will he leave her here…to rot until she's rescued?_

_If she's rescued._

You can rescue her. If you turn around…if you turn around and…Don't leave. Turn around. Don't close that door. I…

_She's crying, he knows it. She's barely making a sound, trying not to show that she have just collapsed inside, but she's crying harder than she ever has. She's holding it in…but she doesn't know how long that will last._

x

Young love.

Drama in the form of confusion.

Adolescence gone awry.

When you put children

In the middle

Of an adult situation

You get complications.

And your brain telling you it's a lie.

_x_

"_Matt…I love you," she says._

_He steps outside the door…_

_And slams it shut._

x

_If you come back in here…if you come back…I will be wrong._

Leave me in the dark again, why don't you? Fine. I'll pay with my sanity. Thank you very much, kind captor. I've learned that love is a complete—

Utter—

Waste.

Please prove me wrong.

x

She looks at the door and prays for it to open—either to let him in, or let her out.

What's so messed up is that she doesn't know which she prefers.


End file.
